Monday Kickstart: Hangtown National MX 2012

After weeks of preparation, the opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship series at Hangtown is in the record books. And after some intense racing in both classes, we have a lot to report.

Every year the crowd turnout at Hangtown is huge and this year didn’t disappoint, as thousands of fans came out to witness the opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Champion.

The track at this year’s Hangtown National got brutally rough. Many of the riders compared it to a combination of Glen Helen and Competitive Edge in California—two of the tracks that many of them train on during the week. The dirt developed deep ruts and some very rough square-edge chop.

The yellow Aceribis track marker stakes have been a staple at the Nationals for quite a few years now, but new for 2012 are the huge yellow Acerbis turn markers that can be found on the inside of the corners. Last time we checked, everyone knew where the turns were on most motocross tracks. Nonetheless, though, they did add to the professional look of the facility and track layout.

As you can see in this photo of Star Racing/VMS/Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes, ruts developed on a lot of the jump faces. This photo was taken during morning practice.

Not only was the fan turnout good, but the media attention at the race was at an all time high. Seating space in the press tent was at a premium and shooting got a little crowded at times.